On Striving Toward Righteousness:
In being fond of knowledge, be also industrious because bare knowledge makes a person arrogant.
Often the knowledge of a deed becomes obscure through its neglect, because whatever works are left completely in neglect, even the memory of them will slowly disappear.
Render good works that you remember: then others will be revealed that you had forgotten; and do not give way to foolish thoughts about your forgetfulness.
Evil obtains its strength from one another in the same way good increases (strengthens) one from the other.
When from your desire to please yourself your heart shifts from its position of self-denial, then like a very heavy stone that has shifted from its position on a slippery slope, it will roll unrestrained.
He who accepts denigration and dishonor for the sake of truth, walks in the path of the Apostles, having taken up the cross and just as though being bound with shackles. However, he who does not do this but undertakes to follow his heart is seduced by his mind and falls into temptation and the devil’s snares.
If Christ died for us and we “should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Cor. 5:15), — then clearly, we are obliged to serve Him till our death. How can we regard sonship (to God) as a due reward?
He who does good and seeks rewards does not labor for God, but for his own gratification.
A person that wants to sense the Holy Spirit within himself without first fulfilling the commandments, is like a slave who wants to be set free as soon as soon as the purchase money had been paid for him.
Do not ask how a poor person can surrender to enjoyments when he has no means, because to surrender mentally to the love of enjoyments is more bitter than the actual deed.
During the departure of the soul, a sensual heart (seeking everything pleasurable) becomes its dungeon and shackles, while an industrious heart (inconveniencing itself for God’s sake), is an open door into another life.
Saint Mark the Ascetic
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Often the knowledge of a deed becomes obscure through its neglect, because whatever works are left completely in neglect, even the memory of them will slowly disappear.
+ + +
Render good works that you remember: then others will be revealed that you had forgotten; and do not give way to foolish thoughts about your forgetfulness.
+ + +
Evil obtains its strength from one another in the same way good increases (strengthens) one from the other.
+ + +
When from your desire to please yourself your heart shifts from its position of self-denial, then like a very heavy stone that has shifted from its position on a slippery slope, it will roll unrestrained.
+ + +
He who accepts denigration and dishonor for the sake of truth, walks in the path of the Apostles, having taken up the cross and just as though being bound with shackles. However, he who does not do this but undertakes to follow his heart is seduced by his mind and falls into temptation and the devil’s snares.
+ + +
If Christ died for us and we “should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Cor. 5:15), — then clearly, we are obliged to serve Him till our death. How can we regard sonship (to God) as a due reward?
+ + +
He who does good and seeks rewards does not labor for God, but for his own gratification.
+ + +
A person that wants to sense the Holy Spirit within himself without first fulfilling the commandments, is like a slave who wants to be set free as soon as soon as the purchase money had been paid for him.
+ + +
Do not ask how a poor person can surrender to enjoyments when he has no means, because to surrender mentally to the love of enjoyments is more bitter than the actual deed.
+ + +
During the departure of the soul, a sensual heart (seeking everything pleasurable) becomes its dungeon and shackles, while an industrious heart (inconveniencing itself for God’s sake), is an open door into another life.
Saint Mark the Ascetic
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